Specter of History
by NebulaBelt
Summary: Sequel to Mobius: Twenty Years Later (My Style). You should read that beforehand. Old secrets have a bad habit of coming out, often with poor results as Lara-Su and friends will soon find out. Chapter 13 up! Please read and review!
1. Welcome Aboard the Red Arrow Express

All Sonic the Hedgehog and Knuckles the Echidna characters are copyrighted to Archie Comics, Sega, DiC, and whoever else that isn't me. Any original characters or plots belong to me.  
  
  
******  
-TEL AVIV, AUTONOMOUS SOVIET REPUBLIC OF PALESTINE; UNION OF SOVIET SOCIALIST REPUBLICS, 3255  
  
  
"It's too hot!" Nick whined. "I think I can feel my fur sweating!"  
  
"That's what you get for wearing winter clothes in the desert!" Naomi shot back, not feeling the least bit sorry for her brother. "I told you we were meeting Aeryn and Chris in Palestine!"  
  
"You also told me to dress warmly for Russiya!" Nick retorted.  
  
"Does this LOOK like Russiya to you?! No, this is Palestine! Meaning we're in Arabia, which is mostly desert. Now stop whining, you're giving everyone a headache."  
  
Nick grumbled a bit and moodily stomped away. Naomi just shook her head at her departing brother. Truth be told, it WAS hot even though she was only wearing a tank top and a pair of shorts, along with her shoes and a pair of sunglasses. She rubbed the back of her hand against her forehead, wiping away the sweat. Even with her sunglasses Naomi still felt the hot Tel Aviv April sun beating down on her. She could see that the rest of her friends weren't doing that well either.  
  
Nick was still whining and Lara-Su simply sat underneath an umbrella, trying to beat the heat by doing and saying as little as possible. Even the normally unflappable Thomas was obviously feeling the effects of the heat, his normally neat hair looked frazzled and misshapen. He wasn't even breathing so much as he was panting in the hot desert. Just when Naomi was about sure she was about to collapse, she spotted two figures heading towards them.  
  
She was pretty sure it was a mirage until one of them was close enough to shake her out of her trance.  
  
"Naomi?" She blinked.  
  
"That you Aeryn?"  
  
"Who else would it be? Forgive me if I'm prying, but why is your brother wearing a parka in the middle of Tel Aviv?"  
  
"Let's just say he fell asleep during geography." Naomi said succinctly.  
  
"I see." Aeryn said, trying not to laugh. "You didn't have to wait over here you know. We've been waiting at the train station for an hour. It's only three blocks from here."  
  
Naomi winced. "What's the Russian word for 'oops?' " Aeryn just shrugged.  
  
"It's as you say 'no biggie,' the train doesn't leave for another fifteen minutes. Come on, Christopher and I will help with your bags."  
  
"Thanks." Naomi said. "Come on guys, let's get going!" The group picked up their belongings and marched over to the train station.  
  
"Welcome to the Red Arrow Express." Aeryn said as they climbed aboard. "I chose to have us take a train in order for us to get a better look at the country as we go past. Planes just can't show the same kind of beauty and detail that trains can." Nick snorted.  
  
"I bet someone was just afraid to go flying." He muttered sullenly, looking at Christopher who just flushed and moved away. Aeryn gave Nick a stern look that would have melted steel, but said nothing.  
  
"We should arrive in Moscow by the Twenty-eighth."  
  
"Three days." Naomi said. Aeryn nodded.  
  
"It COULD go faster, but this particular train is for relaxation and sight-seeing, not just transportation." She explained. "I arranged for two compartments for the six of us. We should stow our bags there before the train starts moving."  
  
Aeryn showed Naomi and Lara-Su their compartment while Christopher did the same with Thomas and Nick. After they put their stuff away, Aeryn was showing Naomi and Lara the observation car. It was mostly empty, save for one middle-aged mouse looking out the window. Naomi saw that Aeryn seemed to recognize him.  
  
"Uncle Mordechai?" She asked.  
  
"Aeryn?" The mouse answered back. "Gevalt! I didn't know you were in Tel Aviv."  
  
"I'm picking up some friends. This is Princess Naomi of Mobotropolis and Lara-Su of the Floating Island."  
  
"No kidding? You all going to Moscow?" He asked.  
  
"Yes, we have some other friends who are around here somewhere."  
  
"Is that kangaroo boy with you? The one than always hangs around with you?"  
  
"Christopher? Yes, he's here. Why are you going to Moscow?"  
  
"Not for the verkakte weather, I can tell you that. I just need to talk with your father about some things."  
  
"Ah," Aeryn noticed the confused expressions on her friend's faces. "This is Mordechai Chaim Moyzl, President of the Autonomous Soviet Republic of Palestine. He's an old friend of my father and a former freedom fighter leader."  
  
"You give an old man far too much credit." Mordechai said as he rolled his eyes.  
  
"You were a freedom fighter?" Naomi asked, who for the life of her couldn't remember the name Mordechai Moyzl. He nodded.  
  
"Years ago. I was with a little band of Jewish freedom fighters called the Frayovekh Freedom Fighters. I somehow ended up going along with Aeryn's father crazy idea of a revolution and the next thing I knew, I was sitting in an office in Tel Aviv. President no less! Oy, the headache this job has given me." He griped. It was Aeryn's turn to roll HER eyes.  
  
"Oh please, you wouldn't trade 'this job' for anything." She retorted, amused. "Besides, none of your fellow freedom fighters wanted it."  
  
"Can you blame them? Half my staff speaks Yiddish or Hebrew and the other half speaks Arabic. It's enough to drive anyone meshuggeh!" Aeryn said nothing, but simply raised an eyebrow.  
  
"How is that any different from talking to your family?" She asked. To her friends she explained, "His sister married the leader of a band of Arab freedom fighters called the al-Buraq Freedom Fighters. He also happens to be President of the Democratic Republic of Arabia, meaning that he and Mordechai are brothers-in-law."  
  
Mordechai snorted. "We're a crazy mixed up family. A fine metaphor for Palestine if ever there was one." Seeing Aeryn's critical gaze he shrugged. "I'm kidding. I love my brother-in-law like a--well, like a brother." He shrugged again. "Jews and Arabs have lived side by side for over five hundred years, and probably will continue to do so for another five hundred. In fact, one of the reasons I decided to go to Moscow myself instead of sending an envoy was to spend time with my nephew Ibrahim, who goes to school in Moscow."  
  
"He's a classmate of mine." Aeryn said. "I hope to introduce him to Naomi and Lara."  
  
"That's good." Mordechai said as he yawned. "Forgive me, I need to go lie down for a while. You kids go, enjoy your youth while you have it. Trust me, it goes all too quickly. Shalom, Aeryn."  
  
"Shalom, Uncle Mordechai." Aeryn returned as he turned to leave.  
  
"Interesting fellow, isn't he?" Lara commented after he left. "Is he actually your uncle? Or is it just a sign of familiarity?"  
  
"Sign of familiarity." Aeryn answered. "He and my father are old comrades, not to mention that they're both Jews."  
  
"I never knew that." Naomi mused. "Never heard of a Jewish overlander. Oh that's right, he's 'human,' whatever that is." She corrected herself.  
  
"That's right." Aeryn nodded. She then pulled a thin necklace out from beneath her shirt, on it was an star. "This is a Magen David, Mordechai gave this to me at my Bat Mitzvah."  
  
"Your what?" Naomi asked.  
  
"I'll explain later." Aeryn sighed as she put the necklace back. "Any questions about Moscow or the USSR in general?"  
  
"Is Palestine an autonomous republic for Jews or for Arabs?" Lara asked. "I thought that since Mordechai was president that it would be predominantly Jewish, but if so many people speak Arabic--"  
  
"Palestine does have a lot of Jews living there, but there are a whole lot of Arabs who live beside them too. They've been getting along with each other for centuries, as Mordechai mentioned so its a moot issue. Any other questions?"  
  
"Are we actually going to get to meet Mordechai's nephew in Moscow?"  
  
"Hopefully we'll meet Ibrahim as well as Mordechai's son, David." Aeryn answered. "I know them both from school."  
  
"That makes them cousins, right?" Lara asked.  
  
"Da." Aeryn confirmed.  
  
"Are they cute?" Naomi asked. Lara chuckled and Aeryn just shook her head.  
  
"You people are incorrigible. I should only hope that neither one of you corrupt me with your decadent bourgeois ideas."  
  
"Especially when it's your job to corrupt us with your Bolshevik ideas, right?" Naomi laughed. Aeryn nodded, not without a trace of irony.  
  
"Quite right. We better go back and find out what the others are doing."  
  
"Yeah, my brother's probably already driving poor Chris nuts." Naomi agreed.  
  
"Of course if we go back, he'll drive us ALL nuts." Lara-Su pointed out.  
  
"It's a risk, I know. But it comes with being a sister." Naomi sighed.  
  
"Such I suppose, is life." Aeryn said wryly. "At any rate, dinner should be served relatively soon."  
  
"Good, I hate traveling on an empty stomach." Lara-Su said.  
  
"You hate doing ANYTHING on an empty stomach." Naomi reminded her.  
  
"Your point?"  
  
"Never mind. Let's just go get the boys." Naomi sighed as they got up and left.  
  
"Say, Aeryn?"  
  
"Yes Lara?"  
  
"I was wondering...Why did you invite us now? I mean, what's so special about April?"  
  
"Nothing actually, but May is another matter all together." Aeryn said. "Most of the major Soviet holidays happen in May."  
  
"Oh? Like what?" Lara said, her interest perked.  
  
"Well, you have to understand that we celebrate holidays from our history and from his world too. So there are some that reflect events in Mobian history, and some that reflect human history."  
  
"Such as?" Naomi asked.  
  
"Well let's see. We celebrate a LOT of Marxist holidays from my father's home world, Earth. For example: May 1 is International Labor Day, May 4 is the date of the Chinese Student Movement and the Haymarket Affair, May 5 is Karl Marx's birthday, May 7 is the anniversary of Dien Bien Phu's fall to the Viet Minh, May 9 is the anniversary of the old USSR's triumph over Nazi Germany, May 16 is the anniversary of the 1968 French general strike, May 19 is Ho Chi Minh's birthday, and May 25 is Marshal Tito's birthday."  
  
"Yeesh, you weren't kidding about May being full of Soviet holidays."  
  
"Yeah, May is Marxist Month." Lara-Su chimed in.  
  
"When you add in Mobian Marxist holidays, the list grows longer." Aeryn agreed. "On Mobius, May 1 is the Anniversary of OUR revolution. This will be the Fifteenth Anniversary you'll be arriving for. May 5 is the founding of the Soviet Union, that is OUR Soviet Union, and May 9 is the anniversary of Robotnik's final defeat."  
  
"We celebrate Robotnik's downfall too." Naomi said. "There are fireworks and celebrations that last for days." Aeryn nodded.  
  
"It is much the same with us. And May 25 is someone else's birthday besides Marshal Tito's."  
  
"Whose?"  
  
"My father's. It isn't an official holiday, but that doesn't stop people from celebrating it. They just say they're celebrating Marshal Tito's birthday." Aeryn rolled her eyes and chuckled. "My father hates it that people celebrate his birthday, he isn't one for big ceremonies to celebrate himself."  
  
"I don't know," Lara-Su said. "I think it'd be kind of nice to have all those people celebrating and having fun on account of MY birthday."  
  
"Maybe, but you aren't my father." Aeryn noted.  
  
"Well I should HOPE so!" Lara said in all seriousness. "That would be just plain weird, being someone you're not. I mean there are times when I don't quite feel like myself, but the rest of the time I'm me. You know what I mean?"  
  
"No." Aeryn said bluntly. "Let's go eat before we dive into the realm of metaphysics and I, quite frankly, am not in the mood to argue in circles."  
  
"I don't blame you." Naomi agreed. "Before we go to dinner, there's one last thing I'd like to know."  
  
"Which is?"  
  
"Just where will we be staying when we're in Moscow?" Aeryn blinked.  
  
"Why, in the Kremlin of course. My parents agreed to put up with you in our apartment for a few days. It's no palace, but I think we'll manage."  
  
"Oh." In all honesty, it never occurred to Naomi that she'd be spending a few nights under the same roof as the most powerful leader on Mobius, besides her mother anyway. She paused to think that over. From everything she had heard of Aeryn's mother and father, Nikolai Odezvan and Mira Wolf, they were the strangest couple on Mobius; A human revolutionary and a she-wolf who was no reactionary either. The rumors she heard placed them as either being a pair of courageous freedom fighters and lovers or a pair of ruthless demagogues and tyrants. "I'm sure this will be great." Naomi gushed, wishing she was half as confident as she sounded.  
  
***  
  
How's this for an opening chapter? I kick off the story and insert a little bit of cultural diversity while I'm at it. I've been meaning to write something about the Middle East for sometime now but could never find the time. So I decided to add in some of my feelings into my Sonic fics. Here's originality for you, how many Sonic stories talk about Jewish or Arabian Mobians? This is also a message of peace for the Middle East. Jews and Arabs, historical cousins, brothers, friends, sit down and talk peace. Sorry, I tend to get a bit political in my writing. Hence the message. Even I was a bit surprised at my decision to make Aeryn Jewish, but there you go. This isn't going to get religious, there isn't going to be any mention of Judaism or Islam; I'm strictly secular in my writing. I'm not here to kick up religious tensions. Anyway, I hope you enjoy this fic as Aeryn and Chris show their friends around the new Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. It's also a tour into different cultures and histories.  
  
What can I say? I like to teach as I write. Enjoy!  
  
*** 


	2. When in Moscow...

***  
  
By the time the Red Arrow Express came to a stop at Moscow's central train station, Naomi and company were MORE than ready to get off. It wasn't that the train ride was unpleasant, or even boring. On the contrary, it was very interesting and the view was terrific. But being cooped up with Nick for three days was no fun for anybody, especially when he couldn't blow off some steam by running. Having super speed on a train didn't do any good. Naomi smiled when she remembered the conductor's almost relived expression when Nick got off the train.  
  
"Welcome to Moskva!" Aeryn said happily. "You showed me your home city, now I'll show you mine."  
  
"Magnificent." Naomi said in awe as she gazed on the spires of St. Basil's Cathedral.  
  
"Stunning." Lara agreed as she looked at Red Square.  
  
"Wonderful." Thomas concurred, looking at the Kremlin.  
  
"Freezing." Nick said, shivering. "Is there any part of this country that isn't either frying or freezing?"  
  
"Nick!" Naomi reprimanded. "Can't you think of anything besides your own petty complaints?" Seeing an argument brewing, Lara decided to head it off.  
  
"Say what do you generally do to relax, Aeryn?" Seeing Lara's intention, Aeryn quickly nodded and said,  
  
"Many things; I read, I take walks, I go to movies, museums, theaters...." She trailed off, trying to think of something to do. She snapped her fingers. "Got it!"  
  
"What?" Thomas asked.  
  
"There's a public recreation center in Gorky Park that's rather enjoyable. There's swimming, saunas, food, massages, games--"  
  
"I don't know Aeryn." Naomi said. "It sounds a bit--"  
  
"It's free."  
  
"--Expensive." Naomi finished lamely. "How can something like that be free?" Aeryn just smiled.  
  
"Once capitalism has been eliminated in your country, you will find out for yourself."  
  
"Riiiiight." Naomi nodded, mentally rolling her eyes. Sometimes, she thought to herself, Aeryn just takes her ideology a bit TOO seriously.  
  
"At any rate," Aeryn continued. "This is one of the many government owned public centers designed as a place for workers and others to come and relax on weekends and after-hours. The same also applies to tourists. If you'll follow me-" Naomi looked to her friends. Lara smiled and nodded in consent. Within moments, the rest of their party were also voicing their agreement to Aeryn's suggestion.  
  
"Okay then," Naomi said to Aeryn. "Which way?"  
  
"Follow me. It isn't far." As she led them through the winding streets of Moscow, Aeryn couldn't help but notice a distracted look on Lara-Su's face. Aeryn shrugged it off, probably just admiring the sights, she told herself. About five minutes later, she came to a stop in front of a building. "Here we are."  
  
"What's that weird sign say?" Nick asked her.  
  
"It's in Cyrillic." Aeryn said, refraining from adding you dolt. "It says 'Moscow Public Recreational Center and Health Spa' it's open so let's go in."  
  
When they walked in they found the place was, if anything, better than Aeryn described. Soft music wafted in the air as they walked into the lounge. From there they could see several hallways, each with different labels. One said Food Court, another Game Room, Pool, Sauna, and more. Well, actually the labels were all in Russian, so Aeryn had to translate.  
  
"What do you want to do?" Aeryn asked them.  
  
"I think I'm going to check out the Game Room." Nick said. "Maybe they have foosball or ping pong."  
  
"I'll go too." Thomas said.  
  
"I think I'll pass on the games right now. I think a nice sauna would be divine." Lara piped up.  
  
"I'm up for a swim." Naomi said. "What about you two? Aeryn? Christopher?"  
  
"I think I'll join you." Aeryn answered.  
  
"Make that, WE'LL join you." Christopher tacked on.  
  
"I'll loan you a bathing suit." Aeryn told Naomi. "Since I'm a frequent visitor, they have some lockers where I keep my stuff."  
  
"Suit yourselves." Nick told them. "Not my business if you want to freeze your tails off."  
  
"The pool here is heated." Aeryn informed him. To Naomi and Christopher she said, "Come on." As the group split up, Aeryn took Naomi and Christopher to the changing areas. After they put on their bathing suits and placed their clothing in a locker, they headed for the pool.  
  
Christopher gingerly tested the water with his foot. "It feels great." He told Naomi and Aeryn. Naomi grinned. "Glad to hear it. As a matter of fact, why don't you go in FIRST!" She shouted as she pushed him in. The poor kangaroo fell in with a resounding "SPLASH!" and came up soaked and sputtering. Naomi was laughing at his waterlogged expression so hard that she thought her sides would split. Her laughter was abruptly cut off when Christopher grabbed her arm and dragged her in. Now it was her turn to look like a drowned kangaroo, or hedgehog as the case may be. Aeryn joined them a minute later and before long, the three of them were simply splashing about, having fun and enjoying the pool.  
  
"This feels great!" Naomi exclaimed at one point. "When I think of Moscow and Russiya, swimming in a heated pool is NOT the first thing that comes to mind."  
  
"I can't say I blame you." Aeryn agreed. "You probably though skiing, sledding, and ice skating. Right?"  
  
"That and the whole 'take over the world' thing, yeah." Naomi agreed. Aeryn practically shook with laughter.  
  
"I like your sense of humor." She said. "Your humor is as dry as the Arabian desert."  
  
"Good thing I'm in this pool then, huh?"  
  
"Yes, I suppose so." She looked around. "Where's Christopher?" Aeryn asked. Naomi just shrugged.  
  
"Right behind you." Came a voice from behind. Naomi twirled around to find Christopher's head bobbing in the water. "You called?"  
  
"Just wanted to make sure you didn't get yourself in any trouble." Aeryn said good naturedly as she shoved his head underwater.  
  
"Thanks a lot." He muttered when his head broke the surface of the water again. "Remind me to stick your head in the sink when we go home." Aeryn snorted.  
  
"I would like to see you try."  
  
"So would I." He muttered to himself.  
  
"So what exactly do you guys--sorry, COMRADES--have planned for us?" Naomi asked them, highly amused by their playful antics. Aeryn licked her lips in concentration.  
  
"I guess that mostly depends on what you want to do. I DID want to show you around Moscow, take you to some of our more historic and impressive areas and take you to 'the sites.' My school, theaters, musical performances, museums and galleries. But its all up to what you want to do."  
  
"I think that sounds cool." Naomi said. "You were right about this place, no doubt about it."  
  
"Spaesbo." Aeryn acknowledged politely.  
  
"What happens after we leave here?" Naomi asked.  
  
"Since it will probably be getting late, I thought we should go to the Kremlin Apartments. That's where most of the Soviet leadership lives." Aeryn explained, seeing Naomi's incomprehension. "Christopher's parents and mine live there. You and Lara will stay with me in my room and Christopher will either have Thomas and Nick at his apartment or will sleep in our apartment's living room. We haven't decided yet."  
  
"My mother thinks she may have a late meeting at home so we'll all probably end up in Aeryn's apartment." Christopher explained. "It'll be crowded, but they do have a guest room the guys can use."  
  
"That's good." Naomi said. "I should warn you though, Nick snores."  
  
"So does my father." Aeryn grinned. "The noise is...disturbing."  
  
"No kidding." Christopher agreed. "It seems like almost every time I sleep over there, it's--"  
  
"You've spent the night at Aeryn's, Chris?" Naomi exclaimed, mocking horror. "Doing what, I wonder?" She teased. "How scandalous!"  
  
Christopher blushed and tried hiding it by lowering his face in the water. Aeryn for her part, didn't seem to get it. Naomi laughed as Chris squirmed in the water, understanding why Lara found this so much fun. Deciding to let him off the hook, she turned back to the still puzzled Aeryn.  
  
"What do you usually have for dinner?" Naomi asked. "Borscht?" She said, naming the only Russian dish she knew. Aeryn shrugged.  
  
"This and that. I eat one thing, my father eats another, and my mother eats something else."  
  
"Fast-food?" Naomi guessed.  
  
"No," Aeryn replied. "Fast-food is a concept that isn't that popular in the Soviet Republics. I mean, we aren't in so much of a hurry that we can't just sit down to enjoy a decent meal. We have restaurants and delicatessens, but fast-food? No." She shook her head. "No offense, but I can't conceive ANY society that is so obsessed with time that they have to grab and eat substandard food pumped full of artificial flavors and poisons that are going to end up killing you by cholesterol. Sorry if I said anything offensive." Aeryn said after her rant.  
  
"No problem. I guess you'll just have to surprise me."  
  
"Be careful what you wish for." Aeryn admonished her. "In the Soviet Union, surprises lurk around every corner. On top of that, no one here is exactly what they seem."  
  
"Not even you?" Naomi said it as a joke, but Aeryn's response was anything but humorous.  
  
"Especially me."  
  
*** 


	3. Strange Encounters of an Echidna Kind

***  
  
Lara-Su was sitting alone in a nice hot sauna, wearing nothing but a towel. She sighed in complete relaxation. "This is the life." She said to no one in particular. Lara closed her eyes and felt the waves of heat simply wash over her. Before long she found herself falling asleep, not surprising considering how well rested she was.  
  
It did not come as much of a surprise when she began to dream, as most people tend to do. Lara found herself in a cave, of all places, and it wasn't long before she felt a sudden chill. For a dream, Lara said to herself, this feels astonishingly real. A cold moist air wafted through the cave, making Lara shiver. "Something isn't right here." She said softly, her voice echoing off the walls of the cave. She turned around to try and find and exit, but found none.  
  
All of a sudden, she heard something in her mind. It wasn't a verbal call, but something she heard inside her head. It beckoned her down long and winding tunnels of darkness that seemed to stretch on forever. Lara, for one of the few times in her life, felt furtive and afraid. There was something familiar about that inner voice, but she couldn't quite place it. It was oddly intimate but at the same time, very cold.  
  
Lara felt herself coming closer to the source of the voice but with each step, she felt her heart hammering in her chest and her breath shallow.  
  
"Lara-Su." The voice wafted on an unseen wind. It was louder than before; louder, and more excited. Lara stopped in her tracks.  
  
"I think I may have made a mistake." She said to herself as she prepared to turn around and head the other way.  
  
"Lara-Su." The voice called again, sounding even more urgent. Lara ignored it and started walking the other way. "Lara-Su! Lara-Su! Lara-Suuuuuu!" The voice continued to cry and moan. Lara picked up her pace, her walk turning into a brisk jog, then all-and-out run. The voice had grown progressively louder as Lara ran faster and faster. By this point, it had even left off her hyphen. "Lara! Lara! Lara! Lara!"  
  
"Lara!" A new voice called. "Are you all right?" This voice was different, concerned. Lara woke up and found herself staring into the worried face of her best friend, Naomi.  
  
"Huh? Naomi?" Lara asked, confused and exhausted. "What's going on?"  
  
"I could ask YOU the same question!" She said. "Have you taken a look at yourself?" Lara was puzzled until she looked down. She had apparently left her towel in the sauna and walked over to the pool area without a stitch of clothing.  
  
Too confused to even be embarrassed, Lara just looked blank as she tried to recollect what happened. She just shook her head. "What just happened?" Lara asked as Naomi draped a towel around her.  
  
"Besides walking around naked?" Naomi asked sarcastically. "I really don't know. One minute I'm talking with Aeryn in the pool, and the next minute you walk in and scare the crap out of poor Christopher." She smiled sadly and shook her head. "He just dove to the bottom of the pool and stayed there until his air ran out." Her smile vanished. "Are you all right?"  
  
"I guess so." Lara said shakily. "I think it was just a bad dream or something."  
  
"Just count yourself lucky that you didn't walk past the Game Room. I don't think Nick or Thomas would ever let you hear the end of this." Naomi smiled.  
  
"Yeah I think you're right." Lara agreed, not really listening to Naomi as much as she was trying to remember what just happened.  
  
"Aeryn promised not to talk about this...little incident and I'm sure Chris would be too embarrassed to EVER mention it, so I doubt anyone will read you the riot act over this."  
  
"Yeah, thanks Naomi." Lara said distractedly. "I don't think this'll happen again."  
  
"I should HOPE not!" Naomi agreed. "Come on, I'll show you where the showers are. After we get dressed, I'm sure we can put this whole thing behind us."  
  
Lara agreed but was still troubled. Not so much by her...odd actions as by their cause. What did that dream mean? She asked herself. And why was that voice so frighteningly familiar?  
  
*** 


	4. It Takes All Kinds

***  
  
After everyone got dressed and met up with Thomas and Nick, they headed for Aeryn's home. Even two hours after the "incident," Christopher STILL couldn't look Lara in the eye. He dropped back to the rear of the group, not talking to anyone. Lara dropped back to join him.  
  
"Is everything all right Chris?" He turned to look at her, but couldn't meet her gaze and turned away blushing.  
  
"Yeah, everything's fine." Chris muttered not convincing either Lara or himself.  
  
"This is about what happened back at the pool. Isn't it?" She asked, shaking her head in pity. "Oh Chris, Chris, Chris. You are REALLY too uptight for someone your age. I mean, sure I'm more than a little embarrassed by the whole thing, but that's no reason for you to go sulk off by yourself."  
  
Christopher muttered something back, but even Lara couldn't make it out. "So how are you and Thomas?" He asked, hoping to switch topics.  
  
"We're doing fine." Lara said guardedly. "Why do you want to know?" She asked.  
  
"No reason." He said quickly. "Just wondering." Lara-Su just grinned.  
  
"Okay then. Since we're both 'just wondering,' how are things between you and Aeryn?" Christopher flushed and looked down. "I thought as much." Lara said. "Are you ever planning to tell her how you feel? Or do you just plan to spend the rest of your life moping?"  
  
"You make it sound so easy." Christopher said mournfully.  
  
"Isn't it?" Lara asked. "When Thomas and I met it was love at first sight."  
  
"Well I'm not Thomas and Aeryn isn't you." He snapped, testily. He obviously regretted his words the moment he said them. "Sorry."  
  
"It's all right, I guess I forget that things are different for different people. Still, have you ever tried just being honest and telling her how you feel?"  
  
"Are you crazy?!" He all but shouted. "She'd just laugh in my face."  
  
"No she wouldn't and you know it." Lara retorted. "Maybe she's feeling exactly what you are. Go ahead and talk to her already."  
  
"I--"  
  
"We're here." Aeryn called out. Lara and Christopher turned to look as they approached the Kremlin. Compared to the Royal Palace in Mobotropolis, the Kremlin looked squat, utilitarian, and small. However it DID have the effect of making the capitol seem more 'down to Mobius' than a tall Palace so Lara guessed it balanced out.  
  
A pair of stone-faced guards let them enter the Kremlin Apartments and Aeryn walked them to where she and her family lived. They were greeted at the door by a tall female wolf with mismatched red and blue eyes. She was the very image of Lupe, only a few years younger. This was Mira, Aeryn's mom and Foreign Commissar of the Soviet Union.  
  
"Welcome home Aeryn," she said as she kissed her daughter on the cheek. She turned to her daughter's friends. "Christopher, always a pleasure to have you over. Welcome, all of you. Please come in."  
  
"Thank you, ma'am." Naomi said, polite as ever. Mira grinned as she let them in.  
  
"I cannot remember the last time someone called me 'ma'am,' around here it is either 'comrade' or just plain Mira. In fact, I would prefer it if you just called me Mira."  
  
"Thank you, Mira." Naomi said again. "Thanks for having us."  
  
"Do not thank us yet." Mira said dryly.  
  
"Where's dad?" Aeryn asked.  
  
"It is the last Friday of the month." Mira said by way of an answer.  
  
"Oh." Seeing the confusion on her friend's faces, Aeryn elaborated. "The last Friday night of every month, father goes to see his favorite performance."  
  
"What's that?" Lara asked.  
  
"Les Miserables." Christopher groaned. "Every time he comes back from the theater he hums the show tunes all night. No offense." He said to Aeryn and Mira.  
  
"None taken." They replied in tandem. Mira shook his head.  
  
"Dinner will be ready soon. In the meantime Aeryn, why not show your guests around?"  
  
"Okay mom. Christopher, why don't you show Nick and Thomas the guest room where they'll be sleeping tonight. Naomi, Lara, if you'll follow me I'll show you my room."  
  
As the girls and boys split up, Aeryn showed her friends her room. It wasn't that large or elaborate, but it had a plain and simple look that went along with Aeryn's nature. Lara looked at some of the shelves along the wall. They were crammed full of books, mostly Marxist and leftist literature. "Say Aeryn, you sure have a lot of books. Do you have a favorite?"  
  
"Actually Lara I keep it by my bedside." Aeryn tossed her a small, soft cover book. Lara read the title.  
  
"The Diary of Anne Frank:" She read. "Portrait of a Young Girl. I'm not familiar with it."  
  
"I'm not surprised." Aeryn said. "It's a book from Earth. My father gave it to me."  
  
"Oh. I guess that explains it." Lara said, still amazed that her friend's adopted father was from another world. But then again, who wouldn't be? As if reading her thoughts, Aeryn continued.  
  
"Even I find it hard to believe that my father is from another planet, on top of not being Mobian."  
  
"Does that bother you?" Lara asked before thinking. Aeryn shook her head.  
  
"Nyet. I'll admit it gets confusing at times, but I think that in some ways I'm very lucky. I'm exposed to the best of both worlds and I generally deal with more ideas and cultures in a single day than most people are in their whole lives. Think about it, between my mom and my dad I'm exposed to two very different, and very interesting, value systems, cultures, histories, languages...And the school I go to attracts students from all over Mobius. I've met Germans, Slavs, Italians, Magyars, Chinese, Japanese, Arabs, Jews, Africans, Indians, Afghans, Kurds, Romany, Danes, Scandinavians, and all kinds of peoples; mobians, overlanders, dragons, echidnas, dingoes, mammals, insects, birds, reptiles, amphibians--you get the idea."  
  
"Yeah, I think I do." Naomi said, a bit bowled over by all of this. When she first met Aeryn she felt bad for her since she was adopted. Now she found herself feeling slightly envious of her.  
  
*** 


	5. Meet the Parents

***  
  
That night, as the others lay peacefully asleep; Lara twisted and turned on her cot. She kept dreaming about weird places, names, faces she never had seen before. She must have woken up and fallen asleep at least four times during the night. By the fourth time she woke up, she angrily hit her pillow and wanted nothing more than break something.  
  
She rolled over to look at a clock. Even in Russiya, the numbers were the same. "3:50?" Lara groaned, but not too loudly lest she wake Naomi or Aeryn. "Maybe it was just something I ate." She tried telling herself. "Yeah, I'm sure that's it." She rolled over again and tried going back to sleep. Finally, about an hour later she finally managed to doze off again. But as soon as she did, the images would haunt her again. She felt herself looking at the bombed out ruins of a city, feeling cold, tired, and hungry. "Almost like I'm living someone else's life." She thought to herself. Bodies lay in the street and the stench of death was overwhelming. When Lara looked away from the sight, she saw something odd. She could swear that the building she was next to was EST headquarters.  
  
"But that would mean that I'm on the Floating Island." She said to herself. "Nothing like this ever happened on the Floating Island." She slowly backed away from the ruined building, almost tripping on a body in the process. Lara slowly looked down at what she nearly fell over. It is--or rather, WAS--an echidna. There was something familiar about the face. That's when it hit her: it was her mother. "Mom?! No, god this HAS to be a nightmare of some kind. Please let me wake up, PLEASE!" No such luck. She felt a hot breath on the back of her neck.  
  
"Lara--" A voice whispered. "I've been waiting for you." Lara braced herself and prepared to turn around to face whoever, or whatever, it was. Before she knew it, she felt herself being shaken from her sleep again.  
  
"Get up Lara! Morning!" Naomi said. She seemed well rested and even perky.  
  
"I'm going to kill her." Lara swore to herself. "Let's see how the Perky Princess likes it when I toss her out the window." Aloud she said, "I'm up." Lara felt every bit as tired as she did when she went to bed the night before, even more so. She might as well have stayed up the entire night. With a grumble more suited to a grizzly bear, Lara climbed out of bed and headed to the table.  
  
Breakfast was already on the table when six weary teens arrived, each of them looking like they could use another six hours of sleep. Mira was already at the table, as was a tall human dressed in a military style uniform devoid of any medals or insignia. This apparently, was the famous--or rather, infamous--Nikolai Odezvan.  
  
Lara-Su never had a good look at him, save for the occasional newspaper photo. She obviously saw that they hardly did him justice. For one thing, he was tall; even sitting down he towered over everyone else. He must've been at least two meters tall, about half a head taller than his wife, Mira.  
  
For another he was odd looking, even for an overlander type humanoid. In addition to being without fur or feathers or scales, his pinkish skin was incredibly pale; almost as if he rarely came into contact with sunlight. Then again, considering he must spend a lot of time in offices and cold, sunless locations that wasn't much of a surprise.  
  
What WAS a surprise was his face. In addition to being pale and furless, it seemed as though it was chiseled from stone. His green-brown eyes were cold as ice and his impressively sized nose gave him the profile of a hawk about to dive on its prey. Lara was very glad that Aeryn told them he was a vegetarian or Lara would have started wondering if she was going to be for breakfast.  
  
He wore a razor thin pince-nez that was delicately balanced on his nose and wore his dark brown hair long, tied in a thick braid that he probably could have tucked into the back of his pants if he wanted to. On his left cheek was a small tattoo of a wolf pack symbol.  
  
As soon as he saw his daughter and her friends, his stony expression turned into one of warmth and humor so fast that Lara wasn't sure he was the same man.  
  
"Morning comrades." He said genially. "Have a pleasant stay in Moscow so far?" He received a chorus of "yes" and "thank yous."  
  
"Are there any meetings for today, Comrade General-Secretary?" Mira asked her husband.  
  
"Aren't there always, Comrade Foreign Commissar?" He tossed back. "I need to talk to the Commissar of Defense about the May Day Parade."  
  
"Tell mom I said hi." Christopher said.  
  
"I will." Odezvan said. "Should I also tell her that her son is hanging around my apartment like stalker?" He asked, making Christopher blush. Lara smiled, so she WASN'T the only one who enjoyed humiliating Christopher.  
  
"You'll have to forgive my father Christopher. He may look like an idiot and talk like an idiot, but don't let that fool you. He really is an idiot." Aeryn countered.  
  
"I married your mother because I wanted children. Imagine my disappointment when you came along." Odezvan shot back.  
  
Naomi watched in amusement as she witnessed what was for all intents and purposes, a verbal fencing match.  
  
"Is it too late to by back my introduction from you?" Aeryn asked.  
  
"Go! And never darken my towels again!" Odezvan declared pompously. Both began laughing at each other while Mira just rolled her eyes and massaged her temples.  
  
"Perhaps I should explain something about my husband and my daughter," She told her guests. "In addition to being Marxist-Leninists, they are also Groucho Marxists. This sort of thing happens all the time."  
  
"What can I say? There are more kinds of Marx than just Karl." Odezvan shrugged. "In any event, I have to be going. I'm glad I came, but just the same I must be going. Tra-la!" He said as he left.  
  
"And he runs the country." Mira sighed to herself. "How did you kids like dinner?"  
  
"It was great," Naomi said. "What was it called again?"  
  
"Matzah ball soup." Aeryn supplied.  
  
"Whatever it was, it was really good." Nick said.  
  
"Thank you." Mira said. "Nikolai introduced me to that; he never cared much for it himself, but knew that others did."  
  
"You cook much?" Lara asked.  
  
"Sometimes I cook, sometimes Nikolai does. Aeryn even prepares meals sometimes."  
  
"It's a hobby." Aeryn said. "If you'll excuse me I just want to check the subway schedule."  
  
"Okay Aeryn. I have to leave in a minute, I will be missed at the Foreign Commissariat. Have a nice day!" Aeryn nodded as she went to check the times. As Mira was heading for the door, Naomi walked up to her.  
  
"Excuse me, but do you think you could answer a question of mine?" Naomi asked in a hushed voice.  
  
"Of course. What is it?" Mira replied. Naomi fidgeted for a moment as she worked up the courage to ask.  
  
"What happened to Aeryn's biological parents?" Naomi regretted asking when she saw the sad look on Mira's face.  
  
"I am afraid that they are both dead. Her father died in the war and her mother died shortly after Aeryn's egg was laid. Neither one of them got the chance to see her." Mira sighed. "Nikolai and I adopted her shortly after we were married. We never hid the truth from Aeryn and there have been rough spots along the way, but I love my daughter. So does Nikolai. Make no mistake of that."  
  
"I won't." Naomi assured her. "Sorry I brought up such painful memories."  
  
"Nichevo." Mira shrugged. "It is a useful expression I have learned from Nikolai and other Russians. It means 'It can not be helped,' so why worry about it? Have fun in Moscow, Naomi. And do try to stay out of trouble, if you get into trouble I am going to have to be the one who has to tell your parents."  
  
"There won't be any need for you to go to my parents, Comrade Foreign Commissar. I promise." Naomi said, trying her best to sound like Aeryn would. It worked; Mira smiled.  
  
"I appreciate that. Now if you will excuse me--" Mira said as she walked out the door. A minute later, Aeryn came back from her room.  
  
"Did I miss anything?" She asked Naomi.  
  
"Nope. Not a thing."  
  
*** 


	6. Methods of Persuasion

***  
  
"Are you almost finished showering Lara?" Naomi called through the bathroom door. "Aeryn still needs to use it and the boys are waiting outside."  
  
"Okay, okay. Keep your shirt on." Lara-Su called through the door. She emerged a minute later, looking refreshed and alert. "All yours Aeryn."  
  
"Spaesbo."  
  
"Nye za chto." Lara said back, surprising Naomi and Aeryn. She smiled. "I've been brushing up on my Russian. In fact-" Lara recited several phrases in Russian. Naomi looked to Aeryn and found her looking puzzled and amused.  
  
"That's very good Lara, but I think it could use some work." Aeryn said slowly.  
  
"Why do you say that?" Lara asked.  
  
"Unless you wanted to ask me if I had root rot, then I think you may have misstated yourself somewhere."  
  
"I just wanted to ask how your day was." Lara said sheepishly as Naomi laughed.  
  
"I'll help you with your Russian later if you want. In the meantime, I need to shower."  
  
"Of course. We'll just wait with the others." Naomi agreed. As Lara and Naomi joined their friends in front of the Kremlin, they saw that Christopher was already pointing out some of the sites.  
  
"Over there is St. Basil's Cathedral. It serves as a secondary museum of Soviet history and includes a number of old relics from when Robotnik was still around. Old shells of hover crafts, SWATbots, that kind of thing. It holds things while the State History Museum sets up the exhibits, which is at the north part of Red Square. Over there is the GUM Department Store and that's the Lenin Mausoleum. Well it actually isn't a mausoleum so much as it is a war memorial." He kept pointing out the other sights of Red Square, the Lenin Museum, the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, and the Kremlin Wall. He then spotted Lara and Naomi and waved them over.  
  
"If you'll excuse me, I think I'm going to get a better look at the entire Kremlin." Thomas said. Nick nodded in agreement.  
  
"Yeah, I promised mom I'd bring back pictures." He said, indicating a small camera he wore around his neck. As the two of them walked away, Chris, Naomi, and Lara sat down on the Kremlin steps.  
  
"So what's on today's agenda?" Naomi asked Chris.  
  
"We going to visit the school Aeryn and I go to. It's downtown so we'll have to take the Moscow Subway."  
  
"That's okay. Aeryn has the times." Naomi said.  
  
"And speaking of Aeryn..." Lara started. "I think you should do what we talked about yesterday."  
  
"Don't you have anything better to do than meddle in my life?" Christopher asked in exasperation.  
  
"Do I want to know?" Naomi asked.  
  
"I've been TRYING to get a certain kangaroo to admit his feelings to a certain communist echidna, but he just stonewalls me."  
  
"Can you blame me?" Chris asked Naomi. "There is absolutely no way in hell that Aeryn would ever be interested in me."  
  
"I know I've talked you about this before Chris," Naomi said gently. "Apparently Lara's been doing the same. Maybe you should stop telling us why you can't and at least give it a try." Chris shook his head.  
  
"I won't know what to say."  
  
"Just be honest." Naomi coaxed him. "Anything's bound to be better than this uncertainty, right?"  
  
"Maybe." Christopher admitted. "But-"  
  
"No buts Chris." Lara cut in sharply. "Now you go up right now and talk to Aeryn. Or else." She added threateningly.  
  
"Or else what?" Christopher asked.  
  
"Or else THIS!" Lara said as she grabbed his ribs and started tickling him.  
  
"HEY!" Chris shouted. "HAHA QUIT IT!"  
  
"You going to talk to Aeryn?" Lara asked wickedly, wiggling her fingers under his arms.  
  
"ALL R-RIGHT, ALL--HAHAHA--RIGHT. J-JUST STAHAHAPPP!"  
  
"If you say so." Lara said sweetly as she pulled away. Leaving Christopher flushed and panting for breath.  
  
"Was that really necessary?!" He yelled after he got his breath back. Lara just shrugged.  
  
"I thought so. Now, go on; hop to it." Christopher shot her a dark look as he turned around and went back inside the Kremlin Apartments. Turning to Naomi, Lara said; "I always figured he was ticklish."  
  
"How so?"  
  
"He's too flighty and nervous. Besides if he gets embarrassed THAT easily, I figure he's bound to be susceptible to a good tickle. I think he needed it, builds character."  
  
"Hmmm. Lara?"  
  
"Yes, Naomi?"  
  
"I'm glad you're a Guardian."  
  
"Why is that?"  
  
"Because you'd make a lousy psychiatrist."  
  
*** 


	7. An Awkward Moment

***  
  
Christopher paused as he stood outside the door to Aeryn's apartment. "I can't believe I'm doing this." He said to himself. He took a deep breath as he put his hand on the knob. "Might as well get this over with." Christopher quietly crept inside and shut the door behind him. Hearing the sound of running water, Christopher headed towards the bathroom. He thought he might talk to her as she finished brushing her teeth or tying her hair back or something. Something nice and civil. When he opened the door, he found that the situation was anything BUT civil.  
  
The utterly flabbergasted kangaroo's jaw dropped as he walked in on his childhood friend undressing and climbing into the shower. Fortunately for him, the sound of running water obscured his panicked exit as stepped out of the bathroom and shut the door behind him.  
  
He backed up slowly, not trusting himself to do anything else. As he turned around to head for the door, he tripped on the leg of a table and fell with a rather loud "THUD!" He cursed softly as he heard footsteps from behind.  
  
"Hello? Who's there?" Aeryn called from the shower. Christopher cursed himself again.  
  
"It's me." He called back.  
  
"Just a second Christopher." She said as the water turned off. Christopher took the time to stand himself back up.  
  
"Could be worse," He thought to himself. "At least she thinks I'm just coming in as opposed to just leaving."  
  
He just about leaped out of his fur when someone tapped him on the shoulder. He spun around to find Aeryn standing in front of him just wearing a towel. It covered her important parts, albeit just barely; and left more than a little leg bare. Christopher blushed and could not meet her gaze. He looked down but found that staring at her legs wasn't going to help. But since he still couldn't look her in the face, he just stupidly stared at her forehead.  
  
"Heh, h-hi Aeryn." He stuttered. Aeryn, as usual, seemed utterly cool and composed.  
  
"Christopher," She said with a nod of her head. "Something you wanted?"  
  
"W-well, I-I, er...I just w-wanted to tell y-you t-that--" He paused.  
  
"Tell me what?"  
  
Christopher's mind raced as he tried to think of what to say. "--That you should bring your camera, you know just to take pictures of our friends wandering around Moscow and stuff." He blurted out while he simultaneously was mentally cursing his own cowardice. Aeryn blinked.  
  
"Okay then. My camera is in my desk drawer. I'll get it after I finish showering and dressing. Just tell the others I'll be down in five minutes, all right?"  
  
"All right." He nodded hurriedly. "See you in a few." Aeryn nodded once, smiled, and went back to shower.  
  
Not wasting a minute, Christopher sprinted out of the apartment and slammed the door behind him. He leaned against the adjacent wall for a minute, panting and trying not to half an aneurysm.  
  
"Hey Chris!" Nick called to him, nearly causing Christopher to collapse.  
  
"Nick." He returned weakly. "Thomas." Chris added seeing Thomas standing behind Nick. "What's up?"  
  
"The girls sent us here to see if you guys were ready to go. Are you?" Nick explained.  
  
"Aeryn's just getting her stuff together. She'll be down in a few minutes."  
  
"That's cool." Nick shrugged. Seeing Christopher's flushed face he added, "You okay, Chris?"  
  
"Yeah. Yeah I guess I'm just a bit excited to go out for a while." He lied. "Nothing major."  
  
"That's okay." Nick said. "I mean, it's not like you caught Aeryn in the shower or anything, right?" He said as he laughed at his own wit.  
  
"Right." Christopher said weakly as he blushed, fortunately Nick didn't notice. "Lara and Naomi are never going to let me hear the end of this." Chris predicted to himself.  
  
*** 


	8. Face of Tyranny

***  
  
Lara-Su paced outside the Kremlin while Naomi just watched. After a few minutes, the boys came back with Aeryn joining them a few minutes later.  
  
"Hey, Christopher!" Lara said as she pulled him aside. "How'd it go? Did you talk to Aeryn about how you feel about her?"  
  
"It-uh, never came up." Christopher mumbled.  
  
"Never came up?!" Lara said incredulously. "Oh, Chris..." She shook her head pityingly. "You are one impossible kangaroo, you know that?"  
  
"I don't really want to talk right now." He said mournfully. "Could you PLEASE just leave me alone for a while?"  
  
"Okay," Lara said kindly. "But don't think for a minute that this is over."  
  
"I knew you'd say that." He sighed as he walked away.  
  
"Hey Aeryn!" Lara heard Naomi call. "What's this?" Lara turned to see Naomi pointing at a small part of the Kremlin Wall that seemed different from the rest. Then she saw why, it had faces carved into it.  
  
Aeryn looked decidedly disgusted. "That is the Wall of Remembrance or as it's more commonly known, the Wall of Shame."  
  
"What's the deal with the faces?" Nick asked. Aeryn sighed.  
  
"My father did not event communism, it is an ideology he brought from his home world. On Earth it had...poor results." The corner of her mouth twitched at the understatement. "When he went about building communism on Mobius, he made sure that it's faults be explored and addressed. These-" She pointed angrily at the stone faces. "Are the tyrants and monsters responsible for millions of deaths and used communism as their excuse for mass murder."  
  
She pointed at large letters that had been carved into the wall. They weren't Cyrillic characters, they were Latin. "WIR WISSEN BESSER." Aeryn read. "We will know better." She translated. "These creatures represent everything that we want to avoid." Aeryn spat. She pointed to a face. "Pol Pot." Then she indicated the next face. "Enver Hoxha." And so it went, Aeryn pointed and recited them name of each face on the wall. "Nicole Ceausescu. Andrei Zhdanov. Lavrenty Beria. Kim Jong-Il. Andre Vishinsky." She paused as she came to the last two faces. "These are the most repellent of all; Joseph Stalin." She said indicating the last human face. The remaining face was that of a mobian primate. "And Alynna Colleton."  
  
Lara stared at that last face, suddenly she felt the world dropping out from beneath her as she had another weird dream. "How can I be dreaming when I'm still awake?" She asked no one. Suddenly she found herself staring at the face of Alynna Colleton, only it wasn't on a wall and there was no one around. It was a faded poster of her with captions reading slogans like "WAR IS PEACE! FREEDOM IS SLAVERY! IGNORANCE IS STRENGTH! WORK IS FREEDOM!"  
  
When she stepped away from the poster, she found that she was in the same spot she was in during her last dream. "Wait a minute," she muttered to herself. "You can't read in a dream! Something's very wrong here!"  
  
"That is an understatement," said a voice. Lara twirled around, trying to find the speaker. "You won't be able to find me with your eyes." Came the voice again. "You must listen with your soul."  
  
" 'Listen with my soul?' What the hell is going on here?" She said to herself.  
  
"When the time comes, you will know." The voice said, answering Lara's unasked question. "Until then." As quickly as this strange "vision" came, it went just as quickly. Lara found herself back where she was, standing in front of the Wall of Shame listening to her friends talk, if they noticed her spacing out for the last minute or so, they gave no notice. Lara tuned back into the conversation just in time to hear Naomi say to Aeryn;  
  
"I take it they aren't very popular around here, eh?" Naomi said, referring to the dead tyrants on the Wall, trying to lighten the mood.  
  
"About as much as Robotnik would be, were he still alive. Maybe even less." Aeryn agreed. "At any rate, I think I've done enough kvetching today." She looked at her watch. "And I promised some friends I'd meet them downtown. Let's go."  
  
As they departed, Lara cast one last look at the stone face of Alynna Colleton, hoping it would yield some clues as to what was going on. All she found was stony silence.  
  
*** 


	9. Diversity, ain't it a Kick?

***  
  
As the group headed down into the Moscow Subway. Lara and the other out-of-town members were amazed at the sight of the Moscow underground. "Oh my god," Lara said breathlessly. "This place is...unbelievable!" She said, gesturing to the well-lit, large and ornately decorated subway which was completely clean of dirt or graffiti. Wide colorful murals spanned the walls.  
  
"Yeah, this is the first city I've been to where the underground looks nicer than what's above it." Nick commented, earning him two dirty looks from Aeryn and Chris. The subway ride itself was equally as enjoyable as the rest of the underground metro system. It was fast, efficient, and clean. Within fifteen minutes of having entered the subway, the group once again strode out into the sunlight.  
  
"Nice ride." Was all Thomas had to say. Quick, direct, no frivolities or polite blandness, that was Thomas in a nutshell.  
  
They walked down the streets of Moscow while the out-of-towners looked at their surroundings.  
  
"What's that building?" Nick said, pointing to one building. "The one with the statue?"  
  
Christopher coughed uneasily. "That's Dzerzhinsky Square." He said at last. Seeing the confusion he decided to be more precise. "Lubyanka." When it was apparent that none of them got it, Christopher tried one more time. "KGB Headquarters." He said in a hushed tone.  
  
NOW they got it. Naomi shivered. The KGB evoked an almost supernatural dread from everyone who heard of them. As Christopher and Aeryn showed, that didn't just apply to foreigners.  
  
"I met the Commissar of the Interior once or twice." Christopher continued, barely speaking above a whisper. "That's the head of the KGB. He's a chameleon named Salazar. A cold-blooded reptile if ever there was one. Scared me out of a year's growth, he did." He coughed uneasily. "I'm rather happy to say that Lubyanka is NOT on our tour."  
  
"I hear that." Thomas agreed.  
  
"Come on," Aeryn said. "The Bolshoi Theater's only a few blocks away and that's on the way to where I want to meet some friends for lunch."  
  
After they passed the Bolshoi Theater (Bolshoi means "big" and Naomi certainly had to agree with the description), Aeryn pointed at a small cafe on the other side of the street. "Here we are. Come on, I've got some classmates I want to introduce you to."  
  
As they crossed the street, they saw a trio of mobians waiting for them at a table; two boys and a girl. They were a mouse, a horse, and a fox respectively. They all rose as Aeryn approached them.  
  
"Let me introduce to you my roommates from school. This is David Moyzl, you already met his father on the train." Aeryn said, nodding to the gray, short, and unmistakably cute Jewish mouse.  
  
"Shalom." He grinned as he politely inclined his head. Naomi giggled and Aeryn just rolled her eyes, but said nothing.  
  
"This is David's cousin, Ibrahim bin Mohammed bin Rasheed al-Fulani." Aeryn said as she introduced a golden Arabian horse wearing dark sunglasses.  
  
"Salaam alaikum." He said, his rich voice a bit deeper than David's.  
  
"And this is my good friend, Svetlana Bailzow." Aeryn finished, referring to the half-Belorussian, half-Romany red vixen standing next to David and Ibrahim.  
  
"Dobroj tume." She said kindly. "So you're the friends Aeryn and Chris told us about when they went to Mobotropolis three months ago."  
  
"That's us." Naomi nodded. "I'm Naomi Acorn, and this is my brother Nick, my cousin Thomas, and Lara-Su Echidna."  
  
"A pleasure." David smiled. "Did I hear Aeryn correctly? You met my father on the way from Tel Aviv to Moscow?"  
  
"That's right." Naomi nodded. "Lara and I met him on the train. Quite an...interesting character."  
  
"That's my uncle." Ibrahim sighed. "A first-rate nuisance. Like his son, here." He said, indicating David.  
  
"Your father thought it was worth having my dad as a brother-in-law if it meant he could marry my aunt Rivka." David pointed out. "That means you're half-Jewish. You're blood, I guess that means your stuck with us."  
  
"Must be my lucky day." Ibrahim said dryly, to show he was kidding. He shrugged. "We all have odd parents." Everyone nodded at that. "Presidents, Kings, Guardians, Rangers, Commissars, --"  
  
"And plumbers." Svetlana added. "Not everyone here grew up with world leaders to show off on Parent's Day." She said dryly, eliciting a collective chuckle from everyone present.  
  
"So you're all roommates at school?" Naomi inquired.  
  
"That's right." Svetlana nodded. "The five of us share a room at the Lenin Institute of Revolution."  
  
"All five of you?" Lara asked incredulously. "Doesn't that get cramped?"  
  
"We have enough space if that's what you mean. The teachers like sticking together students from as many different places as possible. It's to increase understanding of different cultures and strengthen diversity in the Soviet Union and without."  
  
"Just where are you all from?" Nick asked.  
  
"I grew up in Minsk, in the Slavic Republic." Svetlana answered.  
  
"Cairo, Democratic Republic of Arabia." Ibrahim added.  
  
"Tel Aviv, Autonomous Republic of Palestine." David said next.  
  
"Moscow, Federated Soviet Socialist Republic of Russiya." Was Aeryn's answer.  
  
"My mother and I are from Downunda originally, but we moved to Moscow when I was four." Christopher supplied.  
  
"So this is kind of one big cultural experiment?" Naomi asked.  
  
"That's one way of looking at it." David said. "It's also a kind of learning experience. When I came to Moscow three years ago, I only spoke Yiddish, Hebrew, and a little Arabic in addition to Common. That's the Common Language of the Soviet Union." He explained. "One language everyone learns so they can speak to other people who don't share a common home language."  
  
"Each Soviet Republic has its own official language. Russiya is Russian, Arabia is Arabic, Europa is Latin, and so on. In addition, autonomous regions and republics within those Republics have their own languages and dialects. Let me demonstrate, David's native language is Yiddish. But that means he can't speak with someone from, say, Africana. And if one Soviet Republic can't speak to another, that just creates confusion. So all Soviet children learn at least two or three languages: Their native tongue, which in David's case is Yiddish. The official tongue of their Republic which is Arabic in this case, since Palestine is an autonomous republic within Arabia, and Common which is used to converse with other Soviet citizens who don't speak either Yiddish or Arabic. Understand?" Aeryn explained at length.  
  
"I think so," Naomi said. "Common is for speaking with Soviet citizens from other Republics and you speak your native tongue with your own people."  
  
"There's also a common alphabet, so most widely circulated newspapers and books are written in Common, and most media broadcasts are too. Local papers are written in their native language."  
  
"So you learn more than one language?" Nick asked, dumbfounded.  
  
"If we didn't, we wouldn't be having this conversation." Svetlana shrugged. "In ENGLISH." She added, to drive the point home in case Nick didn't get it.  
  
"Please sit down," Ibrahim said warmly. "We were about to order lunch."  
  
"Great. What do you recommend? I can't exactly read the menus" Lara asked as they all sat down. Ibrahim just shrugged.  
  
"I've always liked their Raqaqaat, but not everyone likes Arabic dishes. They serve a lot of foreign dishes here." He added when Lara just stared at him. "This district is full of diplomats and students from other parts of the USSR and the rest of Mobius. Ask for anything, chances are, they'll have it."  
  
"Oh." Lara said in comprehension. "Okay then, I think I'll have a salad."  
  
"Me too." Aeryn agreed. David snorted in amusement. Aeryn just shot him a dark look.  
  
"Sorry, I just find it amusing that you're a vegetarian, AND that you keep kosher better than I do!" Even Aeryn had to smile at that.  
  
"To each there own, David." She admonished lightly. "Each according to their abilities--"  
  
"--And each according to their need." David finished. "I know. Still, sometimes things around here seem somewhat odd." Aeryn nodded before answering.  
  
"That comrade, is an understatement."  
  
*** 


	10. The Lenin Institute

***  
  
Shortly after lunch, the nine young adults found themselves inside the impressive Lenin Institute, the Mecca of Mobius' young revolutionaries.  
  
"Home sweet home." Svetlana chuckled. To her out of town friends, she explained. "The Institute seeks out the brightest Marxist minds that they can and help them grow. From the age of 13, the Institute provides seven years of education in Marxism and socialism."  
  
"Seven years? Studying an ideology?" Nick said, not able to keep the surprise and disbelief from his voice.  
  
"Not quite," Aeryn corrected. "The Institute effectively teaches us how to expand our minds, to ask questions and form ideas to further socialism. Like college, but it revolves around Marxist thought. After they graduate, many students attend the University of Marxism-Leninism."  
  
"So it teaches Soviet students on how to be better Reds?" Nick asked, tactless as ever. Naomi wanted nothing more than to step on his foot, but their hosts didn't seem to mind Nick's big mouth.  
  
"Not quite. It teaches many different philosophies from many different leftist thinkers, from Earth and from Mobius." Christopher clarified. "And it isn't just Soviet citizens like us. There are students from all over the world; the Floating Island, Downunda, Mercia, the Acorn Kingdom, Albion--"  
  
"Those lousy sons of-" Lara muttered angrily, not forgetting the humiliation or degradation she'd been put through at their hands.  
  
"I thought the Communist Party was illegal in Albion." Naomi said cut in. Aeryn nodded.  
  
"It IS illegal, the same as it is in the Mysterious Cat Country and the Overlander Empire. But that doesn't mean the Party doesn't exist there. And it certainly doesn't mean that there aren't people willing to face imprisonment for their views when they go home. That's the whole purpose of the Institution, to bring new ideas and concepts to societies that suppress new thoughts and restrict the thoughts of its own people." She said, as if quoting an enlistment poster. David rolled her eyes at her earnestness but Aeryn didn't notice or simply ignored him.  
  
"Why don't we show your our dorm?" Ibrahim suggested.  
  
"I'll be right up," Naomi promised. "But Christopher promised to show me your library."  
  
"I did?" He asked. Naomi winced and stepped down on Christopher's foot, hard. "YEOW!"  
  
"Yes, he did." Naomi said, a fake smile on her face. "Why don't you guys go to your dorm? We'll meet you there in a few." They left, leaving Naomi and Christopher alone to head for the Institute Library.  
  
"What was that for?!" Christopher demanded after they entered the library.  
  
"I wanted to talk to you." She said as they sat down in a far corner.  
  
"About what?"  
  
"Aeryn." Christopher groaned at her answer.  
  
"Look if you dragged me over here to talk about my love life, or lack there of, then you can--" Naomi shook her head.  
  
"That's not what I meant." She said.  
  
"Oh." Christopher said sheepishly. "Then what about Aeryn?" He asked. Naomi looked around, to make sure they weren't being overheard.  
  
"Truth be told, I'm kind of worried about her."  
  
"You are?" He asked, puzzled.  
  
"Don't get me wrong, she's a wonderful person and a great friend-"  
  
"--But?" Chris prodded.  
  
"But, I'm afraid she's going to end up killing herself with stress." Naomi finished.  
  
"Say what?"  
  
"Let me start again. Chris, I've noticed that--oh, how to put this?--Aeryn seems to be more...obsessed with this whole Marxism thing than you or any of the others I've met."  
  
"Nice understatement." Chris said dryly.  
  
"Then you've noticed?" He nodded.  
  
"She's very passionate about what she believes in." He shrugged as if it were no big deal.  
  
"Aren't you too? And David and Ibrahim and Svetlana?"  
  
"Well, yes --"  
  
"Are any of THEM as stringent as Aeryn is?"  
  
"No, I guess not." He admitted slowly.  
  
"I don't mean to stick my nose where it doesn't belong--"  
  
"That's Lara's job." Christopher said bitterly.  
  
"--But I just think she just has to RELAX every once in a while." Naomi finished.  
  
"She does, she's been relaxing all week." He said.  
  
"I mean from all this communism stuff." She explained.  
  
"That's who she is, Naomi." Chris explained softly. "It's not like you can take a break from being you."  
  
"Perhaps, but even I take a break and stop acting like a princess every once in a while."  
  
"You mean like when you stomped on my foot?"  
  
"I'm serious, Christopher. It can't be healthy for her to always be thinking about how everything relates to dialectic materialism or Leninism or whatever it is. When was the last time she took five minutes and did ABSOLUTELY nothing?"  
  
"Well..." Christopher scanned his memories of Aeryn, but couldn't think of her ever just sitting back and doing nothing. "Never really. I sometimes try picturing her sitting on a beach with nothing to do."  
  
"I just bet you do." Naomi slyly thought to herself. "And?"  
  
"And the image usually ends with her head imploding." He shrugged. "She's not the kind of person who simply does nothing."  
  
"That's what I'm talking about!" Naomi said. "I've never seen her unwind, she's wound so tightly that she will eventually snap under all the pressure."  
  
Christopher paused as he gathered his thoughts. "Naomi, I'd be lying if I said Aeryn was the most laid-back person I know. In all honesty if she isn't thinking about some new struggle or working to fix some new problem, she's liable to go nuts. But I don't think trying to tell her to relax is going to help any."  
  
"She's going to burn herself out." Naomi protested.  
  
"Maybe. But you have to understand, her views aren't just some hobby she can turn on and off. It's what helps define her as a person: A tireless, relentless fire-breathing revolutionary. She never stops thinking about revolution; she thinks, feels, and breaths it. I don't think you really can separate the communist from Aeryn, they're intertwined." Christopher explained.  
  
"There is no way that can be healthy for her." Naomi sighed again.  
  
"It's her life. Aeryn's a big girl, she can make her own decisions without us second-guessing her. Besides," he added with a grin. "Whenever someone tries to second guess her, they are invariably wrong."  
  
"You know her best." Naomi said. "I guess I'll just have to trust your judgment on this."  
  
"For what it's worth, I do think she should try to loosen up, but that's her business."  
  
"I guess." Naomi agreed reluctantly. "When was the last time she was on vacation? Besides our 'little misadventure' a few months ago?" Christopher scratched his head.  
  
"Last year she spent some time in Paris, but I don't know what she was doing."  
  
"Oh." She smiled. "Maybe you and her can find something nice and relaxing to together? Hmmm?"  
  
"Don't go there." He said as he felt his face grow hot.  
  
"If you insist." Naomi shrugged. "Come on, the others have been waiting for us." As they walked out of the library, Naomi turned to Chris once again. "Don't think for a moment that this is over." She said right before she revved her feet and dashed off at incredible speeds. Christopher was left standing alone. He found at that moment that he could sum up his life in two words:  
  
"Why me?"  
  
*** 


	11. Heir to Stalin

***  
  
Naomi and Christopher weren't the only ones having a private conversation. No sooner had Lara and the others taken a look the dorm room, then she discreetly pulled Svetlana aside for a private talk.  
  
"What is it?" Svetlana asked when Lara pulled her aside.  
  
"There's something I wanted to ask you about." She looked over her shoulder to make sure her friends couldn't overhear. "About one of the faces on the Wall of Shame."  
  
"Which one?"  
  
"Alynna Colleton." Lara answered, her voice barely above a whisper. "I-I want to know more about her and why she's so reviled."  
  
Svetlana sighed. "She is despised because for a time SHE was in charge. She tried launching a putsch to unseat Premier Odezvan-"  
  
"What's a potsh?" Lara asked.  
  
"Putsch. It's like a Coup. Anyway, she was worming her way into the government, trying to seize power. Then, in 3243 Comrade Odezvan apparently 'died' in a plane crash in the Ural Mountains. She seized power and made herself General-Secretary of the Communist Party. After that she began talking about 'spies and counter-revolutionaries in the pay of foreign governments' who sought to subvert and destroy the USSR. She blamed them for the death of Comrade Odezvan and abolished the Supreme Soviet, our representative body." Svetlana paused to make sure Lara-Su was following all this.  
  
"After that, she began purging the Party of all but her own cronies and outlawed all other political parties that Comrade Odezvan allowed, like the Socialist Party, the Pacifist Party, and the trade unions, declared them agents of reactionaries. She gave total sweeping power to her friends in the secret police and they started spying on EVERYONE. People were arrested without charge, exiled or imprisoned without trial, and even beaten and tortured. Our constitutional rights were abolished and Colleton declared Martial Law, saying that the Kingdom of Acorn assassinated Premier Odezvan and was preparing for war."  
  
"I don't remember ever hearing about this." Lara said, awestruck. "I mean, I was only four at the time but I think I would remember SOMETHING!"  
  
"I envy you." Svetlana said sadly. "I remember it all too well. People were denounced and taken from their beds in the middle of the night. Party intellectuals and rank and file members were arrested and everyone became suspect. Then that bitch Colleton began her 'Four Truths Campaign.' War is Peace! Freedom is Slavery! Ignorance is-"  
  
"Strength. Work is Freedom!" Lara-Su finished.  
  
"That's them." Svetlana said. "Anyway, one of the Popular Democracies (That's another word for the Soviet Republic), decided they'd had enough of Colleton and seceded from the USSR. Colleton bombed that republic, Atlantis, and killed over a thousand people, most of them civilians. Then other Soviet Republics threatened secession and it looked like Civil War might break out. Then, not a month after she took power, Comrade Odezvan came back saying that HER agents had attempted to assassinate him. Which of course, is what really happened. He denounced her as a traitor and an enemy of the people. Everyone flocked to his banner and Colleton and her lackeys fled the capitol. She raised a small army of mercenaries and anti-Communists, claiming she was on their side all the time."  
  
"She didn't mind betraying communism?" Lara asked. Svetlana snorted derisively.  
  
"A bitch like Colleton would join any cause if it offered her the best chance of acquiring power. Communism, capitalism, fascism, imperialism, so long as it gave her power she would shout any slogan and wave any flag. She tried getting the military on her side, but they remained loyal to Comrade Odezvan and the REAL government of the Soviet people. Her forces were crushed in short order, though not without losses. Atlantis was so distraught over their losses that they stayed independent of the USSR until they felt that such a thing would never happen again. They just re-joined about three years ago."  
  
"What happened to Alynna Colleton?" Lara asked.  
  
"She died when her army was smashed and good riddance. All that's left of her is that stone face on the Wall of Shame and a song in her honor."  
  
"She has a song in her honor?" Lara said in disbelief. "What song?" Svetlana just grinned.  
  
"Ding, Dong the Bitch is Dead. Quite suiting I think. But tell me, why did you ask?"  
  
"Well, I-" Lara thought about telling her about the weird things that had been happening to her; the nightmares, the visions of devastation, and that poster shouting Colleton's Four Truths. Lara thought about telling her about how she heard voices ever since she arrived in Moscow, voices only she could here and the cryptic messages she was constantly hearing. She wanted to tell her how afraid she was, about how she KNEW something dreadful was going to happen. But she didn't. "No reason, no reason at all."  
  
***  
  
I hate to kvetch, but I'm kind of disappointed by the lack of reviews. Is anyone even reading this? Not to get dictatorial, but unless I start seeing at least a couple of reviews I may just stop uploading this story here and now. So, in the future, a few reviews every once in a while would be really appreciated. Thank you. 


	12. May Day!

***  
  
Naomi and Christopher weren't the only ones having a private conversation. No sooner had Lara and the others taken a look the dorm room, then she discreetly pulled Svetlana aside for a private talk.  
  
"What is it?" Svetlana asked when Lara pulled her aside.  
  
"There's something I wanted to ask you about." She looked over her shoulder to make sure her friends couldn't overhear. "About one of the faces on the Wall of Shame."  
  
"Which one?"  
  
"Alynna Colleton." Lara answered, her voice barely above a whisper. "I-I want to know more about her and why she's so reviled."  
  
Svetlana sighed. "She is despised because for a time SHE was in charge. She tried launching a putsch to unseat Premier Odezvan-"  
  
"What's a potsh?" Lara asked.  
  
"Putsch. It's like a Coup. Anyway, she was worming her way into the government, trying to seize power. Then, in 3243 Comrade Odezvan apparently 'died' in a plane crash in the Ural Mountains. She seized power and made herself General-Secretary of the Communist Party. After that she began talking about 'spies and counter-revolutionaries in the pay of foreign governments' who sought to subvert and destroy the USSR. She blamed them for the death of Comrade Odezvan and abolished the Supreme Soviet, our representative body." Svetlana paused to make sure Lara-Su was following all this.  
  
"After that, she began purging the Party of all but her own cronies and outlawed all other political parties that Comrade Odezvan allowed, like the Socialist Party, the Pacifist Party, and the trade unions, declared them agents of reactionaries. She gave total sweeping power to her friends in the secret police and they started spying on EVERYONE. People were arrested without charge, exiled or imprisoned without trial, and even beaten and tortured. Our constitutional rights were abolished and Colleton declared Martial Law, saying that the Kingdom of Acorn assassinated Premier Odezvan and was preparing for war."  
  
"I don't remember ever hearing about this." Lara said, awestruck. "I mean, I was only four at the time but I think I would remember SOMETHING!"  
  
"I envy you." Svetlana said sadly. "I remember it all too well. People were denounced and taken from their beds in the middle of the night. Party intellectuals and rank and file members were arrested and everyone became suspect. Then that bitch Colleton began her 'Four Truths Campaign.' War is Peace! Freedom is Slavery! Ignorance is-"  
  
"Strength. Work is Freedom!" Lara-Su finished.  
  
"That's them." Svetlana said. "Anyway, one of the Popular Democracies (That's another word for the Soviet Republic), decided they'd had enough of Colleton and seceded from the USSR. Colleton bombed that republic, Atlantis, and killed over a thousand people, most of them civilians. Then other Soviet Republics threatened secession and it looked like Civil War might break out. Then, not a month after she took power, Comrade Odezvan came back saying that HER agents had attempted to assassinate him. Which of course, is what really happened. He denounced her as a traitor and an enemy of the people. Everyone flocked to his banner and Colleton and her lackeys fled the capitol. She raised a small army of mercenaries and anti-Communists, claiming she was on their side all the time."  
  
"She didn't mind betraying communism?" Lara asked. Svetlana snorted derisively.  
  
"A bitch like Colleton would join any cause if it offered her the best chance of acquiring power. Communism, capitalism, fascism, imperialism, so long as it gave her power she would shout any slogan and wave any flag. She tried getting the military on her side, but they remained loyal to Comrade Odezvan and the REAL government of the Soviet people. Her forces were crushed in short order, though not without losses. Atlantis was so distraught over their losses that they stayed independent of the USSR until they felt that such a thing would never happen again. They just re-joined about three years ago."  
  
"What happened to Alynna Colleton?" Lara asked.  
  
"She died when her army was smashed and good riddance. All that's left of her is that stone face on the Wall of Shame and a song in her honor."  
  
"She has a song in her honor?" Lara said in disbelief. "What song?" Svetlana just grinned.  
  
"Ding, Dong the Bitch is Dead. Quite suiting I think. But tell me, why did you ask?"  
  
"Well, I-" Lara thought about telling her about the weird things that had been happening to her; the nightmares, the visions of devastation, and that poster shouting Colleton's Four Truths. Lara thought about telling her about how she heard voices ever since she arrived in Moscow, voices only she could here and the cryptic messages she was constantly hearing. She wanted to tell her how afraid she was, about how she KNEW something dreadful was going to happen. But she didn't. "No reason, no reason at all."  
  
***  
  
I hate to kvetch, but I'm kind of disappointed by the lack of reviews. Is anyone even reading this? Not to get dictatorial, but unless I start seeing at least a couple of reviews I may just stop uploading this story here and now. So, in the future, a few reviews every once in a while would be really appreciated. Thank you. 


	13. Gorky Park

***  
  
"So THIS is Gorky Park." Thomas said. "I always heard it was a sight to see." He said that evening as the group stood outside of Gorky.  
  
"Always with the understatements, Thomas." Lara observed. "This place looks HUGE!"  
  
"It IS an entire city district." Christopher pointed out.  
  
"And you're telling me that it's free?" Nick asked in disbelief.  
  
"There's a slight fee on Friday evenings and on weekends, but since today's Thursday it doesn't cost a thing."  
  
"Sweet."  
  
"What to do first?" Lara asked, taking it all in.  
  
"I always liked the giant Ferris wheel." Christopher suggested. "It gives one of the best views of the city."  
  
"Good suggestion, Christopher. It will also give us a birds-eye-view of Gorky so we can choose where we go next." Aeryn complimented. Christopher's face grew warm at her praise and he just stared at his feet. Aeryn, completely oblivious to his embarrassment pointed in the direction of the Ferris wheel and said, "Let's go."  
  
As they moved toward their two-person seats, Lara "accidentally" pushed Christopher into the seat next to Aeryn. Before he could say a word in protest, the giant wheel started turning and they found themselves being lifted into the air.  
  
Lara found herself grinning at the exultation as she sat next to Thomas. What a sight! She could see everything from up here; the meandering Moskva River, ornamental gardens, auditoriums, concert areas, lakes, booths, games, rides, stages, she could even see the spires of St. Basil's from up here!  
  
Suddenly she felt herself pitching forward, an unseen hand gripping at her throat. Icy tendrils seemed to wrap around her heart, she couldn't breath. An unbidden image sprang to her mind. It was a map of some kind, starting from Red Square and ending about a kilometer and a half to the west. At the end was...a cave! The same one from her first "vision," but what did it all MEAN?  
  
"Be there." Came that annoyingly familiar voice. Suddenly, her weird "episode" ended as Thomas shook her by the shoulders.  
  
"Lara! What's going on? Are you all right?" He asked, a tremor of worry slipping into his normally calm voice.  
  
"I'm fine Thomas, really." She said unconvincingly. "Maybe I'm just a bit lightheaded." Thomas didn't buy it for a minute, but knew his girlfriend well enough to know that if she didn't feel like talking, nothing he could say would convince her to. He just hoped that she showed enough common sense to come to him when she needed help.  
  
Unfortunately, the one thought that Lara-Su had was "I'm going to figure out what the hell is going on here." And being the prideful echidna that she was, the thought of asking for help with a personal problem never occurred to her. A decision she would soon come to regret.  
  
*** 


End file.
